Effect of proteolytic raw milk psychrotrophs on Cheddar cheese-making with stored milk

Abstract

Summary: The effect of proteolytic, psychrotrophic strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, Ps. putida and Acinetobacter spp. on cheese-making with stored milk has been investigated. Ps. fluorescens and Ps. putida growing for 72 h in raw milk at 7·5 °C to levels of approx. 10⁷ colony-forming units/ml caused a low degree of β- and к-casein breakdown detectable by gel electrophoresis, but this was insufficient to affect N losses in whey or cheese yields. Variations in cheese-making times with pasteurized milks were not attributable to the counts of psychrotrophs in the corresponding raw milks. The water-soluble and TCA-soluble N fractions of maturing cheeses were unaffected by psychrotroph counts in raw milks, but small differences in levels of casein fractions of cheeses made from milks stored for 72 h were detected by quantitative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The incidence of casein breakdown in raw milk and subsequently in cheese were not necessarily related. None of the cheeses developed off flavour related to excessive protein breakdown but many became lipolytically rancid, despite the selection of strains with low lipolytic activity on a diagnostic medium. It is concluded that the numbers of psychrotrophic bacteria likely to occur in stored raw milk under commercial conditions are unlikely to cause significant changes in the yields or quality of Cheddar cheese through their proteolytic activity.